Stairfoot railway station
Encyclopedia
South Yorkshire Railway
The South Yorkshire Railway was a railway company which was based in the south of the former West Riding of Yorkshire, England. Its first section of line opened on 10 November 1849 between Swinton Junction and Doncaster...
's main line between Mexborough
Mexborough railway station
Mexborough railway station serves the former mining town of Mexborough, South Yorkshire, England. It is a station on the Sheffield-Hull Line south west of Doncaster....
and Barnsley. It was situated between Wombwell Central and Barnsley. The station was intended to serve the communities of Ardsley and Stairfoot
Stairfoot
Stairfoot is a village in the metropolitan borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England.It is perhaps so named because it lies in the valley bottom between the directly opposed undulations of two small hills on the old road from Barnsley to Doncaster....
, South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
The original station, which was called Ardsley, was situated close by the point where the Doncaster - Barnsley main road (A635) joins with the Rotherham - Barnsley road (A633) and was opened on 1 July 1851. It suffered a temporary closure between 1856 and April 1858 and was closed on 1 December 1871, being replaced by a new station built in the "Double Pavilion" style favoured by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway
Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway
The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway was formed by amalgamation in 1847. The MS&LR changed its name to the Great Central Railway in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension.-Origin:...
.
The station was the scene of an accident
Stairfoot rail accident
The Stairfoot rail accident was a railway accident that took place at Stairfoot, South Yorkshire, England.On 12 September 1870 in Barnsley top yard a rake of 10 goods wagons was standing on a gradient of 1 in 119. A single between the spokes of a wheel was holding them. When two gas tank wagons...
on 12 December 1870, when a goods train divided, the rear section rolling backwards towards the platforms and colliding with stationary passenger train, killing 15 passengers and injuring 59 more.
In due course the area around Stairfoot became a complex set of railway junctions and fly-overs. Joining the South Yorkshire Railway's line was a junction to the Barnsley Coal Railway
Barnsley Coal Railway
The Barnsley Coal Railway was a short railway which, when fully opened, ran between Stairfoot Junction, on the Mexborough to Barnsley line of the South Yorkshire Railway and a triangular junction at Nostell on the West Riding and Grimsby line....
, built in two sections to reach the West Riding and Grimsby Railway
West Riding and Grimsby Railway
The West Riding and Grimsby Railway was a joint railway whose main line linked Wakefield with Doncaster, whilst a branch line ran between Adwick and Stainforth...
's main line at Notton, to the south of Wakefield. There was also a connection to the Hull and Barnsley Railway
Hull and Barnsley Railway
The Hull Barnsley & West Riding Junction Railway and Dock Company was opened on 20 July 1885. It had a total projected length of 66 miles but never reached Barnsley, stopping a few miles short at Stairfoot. The name was changed to The Hull and Barnsley Railway in 1905...
at Cudworth, whilst at a higher level the road and rail junctions were crossed by the Midland Railway
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
line between Wombwell
Wombwell railway station
Wombwell railway station lies in Wombwell, a town south of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. The station is north of Sheffield on the Hallam and Penistone Lines...
and Cudworth
Cudworth railway station
Cudworth railway station was a railway station that served Cudworth, South Yorkshire, England. It was built by the North Midland Railway shortly after it opened in 1840. It was originally called Barnsley and is referred to in Allens Guide as Barnsley Station at Cudworth Bridge...
.
The station, which suffered heavily from bus competition, closed on 16 September 1957.